Stepping out of the aeroplane and into the blistering Darwin heat was like walking straight into the body of a furnace. My breath was embarrassingly laboured from the heavy air and I was sweating profusely as I clambered into the backseat of a taxi.

Darwin is an incredibly vibrant city. It is multicultural, but in a different way to Sydney or Melbourne. It’s rare to come across a true local – that is, someone who was born and bred in Darwin and continues to live there.

Getting your foot in the law firm door via a legal internship is part of the standard segue from student to lawyer. There you can learn the ropes from the ground up. An internship as a judges' assistant or associate seems a heady leap from classroom to chambers.

During the Winter 2017 round I was lucky enough to do a 4-week Aurora internship at the Local Court of the Northern Territory in Darwin (formerly the Magistrates Court). I was placed in chambers being supervised by the Chief Judge Dr John Lowndes and his Assistant.

I completed my second Aurora Internship at the Local Court of the Northern Territory (formally known as the Northern Territory Magistrates Court) in the judge’s chambers. My internship, which lasted four weeks, enabled me to observe the judges in chambers and carry out legal research as needed.

Like many other stressed law students looking for a reason to stay motivated in the rigorous and stressful beast known as law school, I began searching for a reason to stay focused, inspired and driven for the final leg of my seemingly endless degree.

As much as working 40 hours a week in retail and bracing the Adelaide chill had proven to be a steady winter break routine for the first four years of my law degree, I was ever more excited for what winter 2015 had in store for me.

The extensive publicity for the Aurora Native Title Internship Program around Adelaide Law School meant I was always aware of the Program. So, as a soon-to-be graduate looking for places to gain practical experience in legal issues of a distinct nature, I applied for a legal internship.

Last year, I finally applied for a legal internship via The Aurora Native Title Internship Program; something I had always planned to do throughout my combined degrees, yet somehow never seemed to get around to it.